Bathing beach accessory



Feb. 13, 1934. v. w. ARMSTRONG BATHING BEACH ACCESSORY Filed Oct. 17, 1932 2 SheecsSheet l INVENTOR.

VERNON 14/. ARMSTRONG A TTORNEY.

Feb. 13, 1934. v. w. ARMSTRONG BATHING BEACH ACCESSORY Filed Oct. 17, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. VERNON W. ARMSTRONG AW; M

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE My invention relates to bathing beach accessories for the comfort and convenience of bathers, and it is one of the objects of my invention to provide shades or screens of various kinds for 6 the protection and comfort of bathers, which besides being of adequate size to accomplish their intended purposes, may be readily and conveniently collapsed into small bulk and carried in compact condition in a suitable bag or container,

10 giving the entire outfit a high degree of portability so that it may be conveniently carried to and from the bathing beach by the bather. All of the parts are of light weight to contribute to this end, without however, detracting in any way from the effectiveness of the parts of the outfit when in use.

The characteristic feature of the construction of my improved bathing beach accessories, is a circular sheet of fabric secured at its edge to a light hoop of spring metal, for example spring steel, of sufficient strength to maintain the sheet of fabric in substantially flat condition, but at the same time permitting the hoop to be-folded upon itself, for example into three or more convolutions, lying adjacent each other, so that the folded structure is compact and of small size relatively to the size of the structure when in use. The fabric, of course, is correspondingly folded when the hoop is collapsed, and in its collapsed condition, the compact folded structure may be placed in a carrying bag of relatively small size, to conveniently store the devices and carry them to and from a bathing beach as desired, the carrying bag being of sufiicient size to hold the several devices below described, in their collapsed condition. The basic structure referred to, is susceptible of various embodiments, for example, in one form, the circular fabric is provided with a central aperture and crown portion to fit the head of a bather, to constitute the structure of a beach hat, the circular fabric in this case constituting the brim portion of the hat which may be of substantial diameter, for example two and one-half feet to three feet. In another form, a structure substantially the same as the beach hat referred to, is secured around a part of its edge portion, to the end of a rectangular piece of fabric of sufiicient size to serve as a spread, to be placed on the sand of the beach and permit the bather to sit or recline thereon, the circular fabric serving in this case as a screen or shade to protect the head and shoulders of the bather from the sun, the circular fabric when in use in this connection being in substantially vertical position. For convenience, this form of my in.

vention is referred to as a beach spread. Another form of my invention consists in providing a structure substantially the same as thebeach hat, with a curtain of fabric around its outer edge, which is continuous and open only at its lower end, said curtain being of nearly the height of the bather, to form a shelter or protective enclosure, so that with the circular fabric resting on the head of the bather, the bather may change from his street clothes to his bathing suit or vice versa, as desired. With this form of my invention, the lower edge of the curtain is preferably provided with a second hoop similar to the hoop forming a part of the hat portion, to hold the curtain in spaced relation from the bather while the device is in use. For convenience, this form of my invention is referred to as a beach shelter.

All of the devices described are readily collapsible as referred to, and may all be contained conveniently in a carrying bag of relatively small size, so that the entire outfit may be readily stored and carried to and from the bathing beach as desired.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodiments thereof, in which Fig. 1 illustrates in perspective View, my improved beach spread,

Fig. 2 illustrates in perspective view, my improved beach shelter,

Fig. 3 illustrates in perspective view, my improved beach hat,

Fig. 4 is a sectional view to an enlarged scale, of a part of the construction shown in Fig. 1 taken along the line 44,

Fig. 5 is a bottom view to an enlarged scale, of the crown portion of the beach hat shown in Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the beach hat shown in Fig. 3, in collapsed condition,

Fig. 7 illustrates in a view similar to Fig. 6, the form assumed by the hoop of the beach hat in its collapsed condition, the fabric being removed in this figure to more clearly illustrate the relation of the convolutions of the hoop to each other, for the collapsed condition of the hoop,

Fig. 8 is a detail edge view of one form of joint that may be used between the end portions of the hoops to hold them together,

Fig. 9 shows in a view similar to Fig. 8, modified devices for holding the end portions of one of the hoops together, so that the size of the hoop may be changed if desired, and

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the parts shown no in Fig. 9. V

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

As shown in Fig. 3, my beach hat consists of a sheet of fabric 10 which may be circular or substantially so, and provided around its outer edge with a hoop 11 of light spring metal, for example spring steel, the strip material of the hoop being sufliciently wide and thick to hold the sheet fabric 10 in substantially flat condition when the beach hat is in use. The fabric is pref erably of as light weight as can eifectively be used for the purpose of shading a bather from the sun, and with fabric of this kind, the material of the hoop need be of but small cross section, for example about one-quarter of an inch wide and about one-thirty-second of an inch thick. The sheet of fabric 10 is preferably of a size to give ample shade to the wearer of the beach hat, for example it may be from two and one-half to three feet in diameter. The central part of the fabric sheet 10, is provided with an aperture to fit the head of the wearer of the beach hat, and from the edge of the aperture, the crown portion 12 of the hat extends upwardly to protect the top of the head of the wearer. The crown portion 12 may consist of a part. of the same sheet of material as the brim portion of the hat, by shirring the fabric around the base portion of the crown portion 12, or if preferred, the crown portion 12 may be a separate piece of fabric sewed at its lower edge to the edge of the aperture in the brim portion of the hat. A draw string 13 is preferably provided around the base of the crown portion 12,, by which the aperture in the brim portion 10 may be changed in size to fit the head of the wearer of the hat. The hat is also preferably provided with a chin band 14, secured at its ends to the opposite edge portions of the brim 10 of the hat, and normally extending adjacent the under surface of the brim portion 10, so that when the band 14 is placed under the chin of the wearer, the hoop 11 is flexed slightly and places sufficient tension on the band 14 to hold the hat on the head of the wearer. The brim l portion loais preferably provided with a pocket 15 on one of its surfaces, to contain smoking supplies, toilet articles, or the like, for the convenience of the bather.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1 a shade or screen 20 is provided, which may be of substantially the construction of the hat illustrated in Fig. 3 and provided with a similar edge hoop 21, crown portion 22 and drawn string 23, the size of the shade or screen being substantially the same as the hat illustrated in Fig. 3, or of other size as preferred. A rectangular sheet of fabric 26 also constitutes a part of this construction, this sheet of fabric being of such length and width that a bather may recline on it and be protected from the sand of the beach. One end of the fabric sheet 26 is secured in any convenient manner, for example by sewing, to the corresponding part of the lower edge. of the screen or shade 20-, so that when the spread and; shade are in use, the mid portion lof the. fabric sheet 26 adjacent the shade or screen is on. the sand, and the side portions of the fabric sheet 26 adjacent, the shade or screen 20, are raised from the sand and extend upward- 1y around the edge of the shade or screen, an

amount determined by the width of the fabric of a bather from the sun, when he is reclining on the fabric sheet 26. If preferred, a bather may use this structure to protect the head and back in sitting position, by sitting on the fabric sheet 26 at a distance from the shade or screen 20, and placing the shade or screen on his head in much the manner described for the use of the hat illustrated in Fig. 3.

In Fig. 2 I illustrate a clothes changing shelter consisting of an upper horizontal fabric wall 30 provided with an edge hoop 31,, crown portion 32 and draw string 33 in substantially the manner described for the hat structure illustrated in Fig. 3. The shelter also includes a side wall 37 of fabric secured at its upper edge to the edge of the topwall 30, so that the side wall is tubular and preferably continuous and without opening from its upper to its lower edge. The side wall 3'? is preferably slightly less in vertical height than the height of the person using the shelter, so that the lower edge of the side wall will hang clear of the sand of the beach. The lower edge of the side wall 37 is preferably provided with a second hoop 38 of substantially the construction of the hoop 31, to maintain the side wall in tubular form and in spaced relation from the user. In using the shelter, the hoops 31 and 38 are brought together, collapsing the side wall 37 vertically, the structure in this condition is placed on the head of the user, and the hoop 38 is permitted to drop so as to open up the side wall 37 and cause it to assume its tubular form. The hoops 31 and 38 are of sufficient size to afford ample clearance within the shelter, so that the clothes of the user may be changed as desired.

The hoops described may be secured to the edges of the corresponding sheets of fabric in any desired manner, and in Fig. 4 I illustrate one means of doing so. As illustrated in this figure, the edge portion of the fabric sheet 20, is wrapped around the hoop 21 and secured to the body portion of the fabric sheet by stitching. It is obvious that the parts may be secured together in any other desired manner, for example by cementing, if preferred.

In Fig. 5 I illustrate in bottom view, the crown portion of the hat shown in Fig. 3, to illustrate more clearly the relation and action of the draw string 13. When it is desired to but slightly change the size of the aperture in the fabric sheet 10, and to correspondingly change the size of the base of the crown portion 12 of the hat, this may readily be done by untying the draw string 13 and either loosening the draw string or tightening it as required. Forsuch conditions, or where the crown portions of the several devices are to have. a fixed size, the hoops may be secured together at their end portions as illustrated in Fig. 8 for the hoop 11. As shown in this figure, the ends of the hoop overlap each other and are permanently secured together by rivets 1111, so that the hoop is in effect a continuous ring.

It will appear however, that where a substantial decrease in size of the hat crown is required by correspondingly shortening the draw string 13 in Fig. 5, such change in size of the hat will require a radial contraction of the entire material of the fabric sheet 10, which is not permitted by the form of hoop fastening devices illustrated in Fig. 8. To facilitate such extreme changes in size of the crown portions of the several devices described, I provide the connecting devices for the end portions of the hoops, illustrated in Figs. 9and 10. As shown in these figures, the

end portions of a hoop 11?) are shown in over-- bers 11c and 11d, one of these slide members being secured to one end portion of the hoop and the other of said slide members being secured to the other end portion thereof. This permits the end portions of the hoop to be moved longitudinally relatively to each other, to change the effective size of the hoop and permit large changes of size of the crown portion of any of the structures above described with which the hoop is used. To retain the hoop in any particular adjustment, one of the end portions of the hoop may be extended beyond its slide member, for example the slide member 11d, as illustrated at 11c, and bent so as to press lightly against the other end portion of the hoop, the latter being provided with a series of perforations 11 for engagement by the spring projection lle sumciently to hold the hoop in desired adjustment against any forces normally exerted upon the hoop in using the devices described. This spring engagement, however, is not suificient to prevent sliding the end portions of the hoop on each other, when the end portions are firmly grasped and moved longitudinally relatively to each other.

An important feature of my beach accessories above described, is their convenient portability, resulting first from the light weight of the devices, and second, from the manner in which they can be collapsed into small bulk when not in use. When it is desired to collapse the hat illustrated in Fig. 3, opposite portions of the hoop of the hat are grasped and twisted reversely, with the result that the hoop is readily folded into three adjacent convolutions, at the same time compactly folding the fabric portions of the structure, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The three convolutions of the hoop result from a combined twisting and folding movement, and the relation of these convolutions to each other is more clearly indicated in Fig. 7 in which the collapsed hoop is illustrated in the form it would assume if all of the fabric parts were removed from the hoop. In collapsing the spread illustrated in Fig. l, the same procedure is followed, and after the shade or screen portion 20 is collapsed as described for the collapsing of the hat, the fabric sheet 26 is folded first laterally and then longitudinally around the collapsed shade or screen and the entire structure is reduced to a compact condition. In collapsing the shelter illustrated in Fig. 2, the hoops 31 and 38 are first brought closely together, thus collapsing the side wall of the device, and the two hoops are simultaneously collapsed in the same manner described for collapsing the hoop of the hat and the fabric of the device follows the collapsing movement and is reduced to a compact condition.

From the above it will appear that where the hat brim 10, the shade or screen 20 and the top wall 30 have a diameter of substantially three feet, the devices in their collapsed condition will not exceed a diameter of one foot.

It is desirable that all of the metal parts employed shall be of rust proof material, or treated to prevent rusting, and that all of the fabric employed besides being sufficiently opaque to serve the purposes described, shall at the same time be as thin as possible to reduce the collapsed outfit to its smallest possible bulk. I prefer to use water proof or Water resistant fabric throughout, so that it will not be necessary to dry any of the devices after they are used, if water comes in contact with them during their use.

Where I refer in the specification and claims to the fabric sheets 10, 20, and 30 and the corresponding hoops as being circular, I do so in an illustrative sense, and I include within the scope of that term, other curved forms that may be given to these structures, for example, forms that are more or less elliptical.

While I have shown my invention in the particular embodiments above described, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to this exact construction as I may employ equivalents known to the art at the time of the filing of this application without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An accessory for bathing beaches, consisting of the combination of a circular sheet of fabric, a hoop of spring material secured to the edge of said sheet and tending to hold said sheet in fiat condition, said sheet having a central aperture, a crown portion of fabric extending from the edge of said aperture, a draw string around said aperture for changing the size thereof, said hoop being of strip material overlapped at its end portions, and slide members carried by said end portions facilitating relative movement thereof longitudinally, said end portions having interengaging conformations tending to hold said end portions in desired adjustment.

2. An accessory for bathing beaches, consisting of a sheet of fabric having an annular brim portion and a crown portion, a hoop of spring material secured to the outer edge of said brim portion and tending to hold said brim portion in flat condition, a draw string around the base of said crown portion for changing the size thereof, said hoop being of strip material overlapped at its end portions, and a slide member holding said end portions adjacent each other for relative movement thereof longitudinally, the engagement of said end portions and said slide member tending to hold said end portions in desired adjustment.

VERNON W. ARMSTRONG. 

